Get ready to love your life!

This year will be different. You’ll be fitter and more gorgeous. Have more sex and need fewer sick days. Make more cash and make a difference. The secret? 15 Minutes to Your Best Self (Gotham Books), our new guide full of genius strategies, each doable in less than a quarter hour. Try six of its potent action plans here, plus a few of the 573 fast tips. You’ll love the new you!

Your top 10 health improvers

Stay vibrant for years to come by following these essential steps.

1. Know your family history You’ll reduce your risk for disease and help your M.D. pinpoint the cause of symptoms. Ask relatives general questions and let them volunteer their specifics, experts at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, suggest.

2. Catch your zzz’s Insufficient rest could be as devastating to your health as poor nutrition or lack of exercise, says James B. Maas, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Snooze for seven to nine hours nightly.

3. Bite right For clear arteries, consume as few trans and saturated fats as possible. Go for monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. Nuts are a great source, but stick to 1 ounce (23 almonds)—they’re high in calories, too.

4. Nix the butts Smoking ups your risk for heart disease and a range of cancers, including lung cancer, which kills more women than breast, ovarian and uterine cancers combined. Even if you’re a “social” smoker, ask your doc about cessation aids.

5. Soothe stress Being chronically frazzled might contribute to high blood pressure, which can lead to a stroke. Blow off steam at least weekly with a tension tamer such as yoga or meditation.

6. Wear sunscreen As little as 15 unprotected minutes of sun each day could increase your chances of skin cancer (and wrinkles). Slather on sunscreen daily, and use moisturizer and makeup with SPF.

7. Move it Vigorous exercise helps provide a buffer against heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. Doing cardio or weights for half an hour a day is all it takes to reap lifelong benefits.

9. Care for your pair For women with no family history of breast cancer, the odds of getting the disease are 1 in 13. Give yourself a once-over monthly, and talk to your doctor about screenings.

10. Strap in Crashes are the chief cause of accidental death and injury for women 25 to 34 and the third killer for those 35 to 44. Drive within the speed limit and always wear your seat belt.

Got 2 minutes? Preserve your senses!

I beg your pardon? Once the sound-detecting hair cells in your ears are destroyed by loud noise, they’re gone for good. (Used frequently, even a blender can cause damage.) When it’s noisy, use foam earplugs, says Mary Florentine, Ph.D., Matthews Distinguished Professor at the Institute for Hearing, Speech and Language at Northeastern University in Boston. Sound advice!

Got 1 minute? Wake up refreshed

If you’re a stomach sleeper, skip the pillow underneath your head. (It can strain your neck.) Instead, slide one under your pelvis. You’ll ease back pressure and sleep like a log.